CRTC releases 2014 report on the state of the Canadian telecommunications industry

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) released information on September 25 on the telecommunications sector from the 2014 Communications Monitoring Report.

The report shows that more and more Canadians are adopting smartphones and tablets. Over 62% of the population owns one of these devices, and 39% of Canadians use tablets – an increase from 2012, when the percentages were 51% and 26%, respectively. In 2013, 90% of wireless service subscribers were the customers of one of Canada’s three major providers.

The percentage of households that subscribed to Internet services remained stable, from 79% in 2012 to 80% in 2013. However, the percentage of subscribers with download speeds of 5 megabits per second or more increased by 5% reaching 67% (including satellite services) in 2013. The market share of small service providers competing with the three major providers in Canada increased as well, from 9% in 2012 to 10% in 2013.

The availability of Internet service with a download speed of 5 megabits (Mbps) per second or more rose from 82% of Canadian households in 2009 to 94% in 2013. Monthly rates varied widely by province and whether the area was rural or urban. With the exception of the territories, the least expensive monthly fee for a 5-Mbps broadband service varied between $25 and $49 in urban areas and $32 and $55 in rural areas.

More and more Canadian households are abandoning landlines. The number of residential phone lines dropped by 6%, from 12 million in 2012 to 11.2 million in 2013.